Local Standout Mike Manley Heads to 4th NCAA Championship Weekend

The Rochester Rattlers entered the 2012 MLL Draft with a pressing need at close defense and were also looking for a lot of help in midfield. After the first seventeen picks in the 2012 MLL Draft they had taken significant steps in filling those needs. The Rattlers selected Mike Manley (D) with the third overall pick in the draft

Manley, a senior out of Penn Yan High, has started every game since arriving at Duke and was a third-team All-American last year. For his career, Manley's picked up 101 groundballs while taking the reins as Duke's primary cover defender.

Manley was named the ACC Rookie of the Year after his first year with the Blue Devils. As a freshman Manley scooped twenty-three ground balls and helped a defense that surrendered only 8.30 goals per game – the best mark in the ACC and the eighth best mark in the country.

As a junior Manley was named a USILA Third Team All-American. He started nineteen games and helped lead a defense that allowed only 8.98 goals per game. He finished the season with forty-four ground balls and caused seventeen turnovers. Manley caused three turnovers in the NCAA Tournament against both Johns Hopkins and North Carolina. He was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team.

The 6’1”, 204 pound Manley missed the 2011 NCAA Lacrosse season with Duke due to injury, but he was back on the field helping warm-up the goalie in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. He should be fully recovered for the 2012 NCAA season and the 2012 MLL season this year.

Mike Manley will be playing in the final four this weekend, entering his fourth championship weekend and is expected to play a pivotal role in their quest for the second NCAA National Championship in Duke’s history.